CASPER — A 25-year-old woman is accused of stabbing her mother, whom she referred to as a “witch,” and slashing her mother’s car tires.
Before slashing the tires on Wednesday, she told police that she expected her mother to “run her over.”
Justus Delilah Gagne made her first appearance in Casper Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon before Judge Kevin Taheri, where she was charged with aggravated assault and battery, theft, and property destruction and defacing.
“It is alleged that she stabbed her mother. Sam Forshner, Natrona County assistant district attorney, informed the judge that she needed to go to the hospital. “She also looked for her mother to run her down.”
According to court records, Casper Police Department officers were dispatched to the corner of South McKinley and 27th streets around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to investigate a reported stabbing.
‘Very violent’
Officers discovered Gagne’s 53-year-old mother in the stairwell of an apartment building in the 2500 block of South McKinley, bleeding from her abdomen.
According to an arrest affidavit, a passerby mistook the suspect for a male and described the attack as “very violent.”
Gagne’s mother was treated by EMS and taken to Banner Wyoming Medical Center.
During an interview with investigators, the mother stated that Gagne had arrived at the drug store where she worked, appeared fine, and requested a drink of water earlier in the day.
Gagne returned around 3 p.m., asking to speak with her. The mother then asked police for a ride to their apartment in the 2500 block of South McKinley.
According to the affidavit, after driving her to the apartment, the mother walked with Gagne inside, unlocked the door, and returned to her vehicle to go back to work.
Gagne followed her back down and entered the passenger vehicle to retrieve her drink. The mother told police she got out of the car, walked around, spoke with her daughter, and hugged her.
Hug And Stabbing
She then tried to give her daughter a kiss and noticed her daughter’s facial expression had changed and that “she was not there.”
“(The mother) immediately felt a sharp pain on her left side and looked down,” the affidavit says. The mother “saw Justus pull her right hand away, holding a pocketknife.” She grabbed Justus’ right arm to prevent further stabbings.
According to the affidavit, Gagne left the area, and her mother attempted to flag down a car for help before finding a resident of the building who came out and assisted her while waiting for help to arrive.
According to the affidavit, the mother received two stab wounds to her body that were not life-threatening but would require surgery to repair.
About 15 minutes after the stabbing, police found Gagne at Eastbrook and Elk avenues, holding a pocketknife with a silver and black handle.
During an interview, police suspected Gagne was under the influence of drugs because of her mood swings from laughing to crying.
Gagne told police she had used meth in the past but was trying not to do so anymore, but she refused to say when she last used the drug, according to the affidavit.
She told police that she did not believe the woman she stabbed was her biological mother and refused to refer to her mother by name.
‘Dark Energy’
“(Gagne) stated that (her mother) had dark energy and was always trying to hurt her by kicking her out of the house and not helping her,” said the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Gagne referred to her mother as a literal “witch,” and when her mother told her that she “believed in Justus,” she was bothered by the positive statements.
Gagne explained to the investigator that she stabbed her mother because she was “a witch with dark energy.”
Gagne then stated that she was suspicious that her mother had actually been stabbed because there was no blood on the knife and that when her mother grabbed her hand, she used “superhuman strength” to take the knife.
Following the stabbing, Gagne told police that she went looking for her mother to run her over, and she had no idea where she went — further evidence that she was a “witch,” the affidavit states.
When she couldn’t find her mother, she drove away in her mother’s car, felt “dark energy” inside, saw a figure in the mirror with “dark energy,” got out, and “popped” the tires, according to the affidavit.
Police discovered the vehicle in the 1900 block of South Glendale. The affidavit states that all four tires had been slashed. The car’s outside driver and passenger sides were covered in red spatters.
No Permission to Drive
According to the affidavit, Gagne’s mother claims her daughter took the vehicle without permission and has never been granted permission to drive it.
In court Thursday afternoon, Gagne appeared sluggish at times while answering Taheri’s questions. She told the judge that she was aware of the potential penalties for the charges and that she was “bankrupt.”
“I am pretty young, and I am trying to get my life together,” she stated. “I have not received the necessary support. I’m not very well educated on a lot of things.”
She also informed the court that she had been “dealt a bad hand.”
Forshner asked the judge for a $75,000 cash bond, describing Gagne as a “substantial risk” to the community.
Taheri agreed and said he’d have Gagne’s mail delivered to the Natrona County jail rather than her mother’s apartment.
Both aggravated assault and battery and felony theft are punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The charge of property destruction and defacement carries a maximum jail sentence of six months and a fine of $750.
